The Official 356Talk Forum

Most of us can look back to being 18 and remember some really stupid things we did. You can look at your purchase of this car and maybe be surprised at how much sense you had! And its beautiful now.

1.jpg[/attachment]Here we have '53 Coupe #50431. I picked it up in June, 2001 for 7K. The engine ran fine, but the brakes were completely shot,
so I didn't get to drive it. 1956 1600 Super motor in it, (Speedster). The first two photos were taken before it was damaged and
resold to the person I bought it from. Then, you see what it looked like the day I brought it home. Scary, baby! The last view is
after I stripped the bondo mess from the front end. I hand stripped the entire car; as this was my therapy post-9-11. Little did
I know what sort of trouble I was about to get into!...jt

P.S.: This is the first time I have tried a photo embed, looks like everything got scrambled and out of order. I am sorry for that...

This is my 54 in the 70ies..

Love it Kent!
Is that in Sweden?

Hendrik Moulds wrote:Love it Kent!
Is that in Sweden?

Tanks. The pics are taken in sweden.. Car is now in Norway.
Not looking so fresh..

Hendrik Moulds what is the color code & name on the red '53 Cab? Beautiful car!

Ned Gorski wrote:here is a picture of my old girl.
The before and after, i found her in a barn when i was 18 on Senior skip day.
I've owned her for 28 years took 16 years to finish my restoration .
55 continental Cab #60748.... AKA Blue

This is just the inspiration and motivation I needed!

This is mine. In for the long run but up for the challenge. I wished I had the expertise you guys have in Europe and US but determined to do as good restoration as possible.

I will need lots of advise and parts!

Already managed to get correct engine and transmission which is a massive step in the right direction.

Chat soon,

Rod

Cool car Rod! Interesting that is had a factory steering lock. Would be interested in seeing a photo of it if it's still with the car.

And what looks like a 5cm gear shift extension according to the Kardex? Does this mean it had the old non-synchromesh gearbox with the straight up-and-down gear shifter? I.e. the VW crash box instead of the 519 Porsche synchromesh? Given its build date and that it has a 546 engine, I would guess it would have had the 519 gearbox.

Btw, there's a really original car still existing just 20 numbers from yours. Unrestored. 15111. These cars have some 1952 interior features such as carpeting in the front foot well area. But otherwise mostly 1953 model year features.

Thanks James!

I'm busy doing an item list of all parts that came with the car. As soon as I'm done I will check to see if the steering lock is there. With regards to the gearbox the COA just says "shift lever 5cm longer".

Is there a link to the 15111 car? Would be great to use it as a reference. I've been trying to dig a bit deeper with Reuter Books, and even contacting Porsche Hannover to see if they had any details of the interior but no luck yet.

I saw this beautiful restoration done by Karrosserie Limited and if nothing comes out in terms of original interior then I will be going with this.

Chat soon!

No transmission number on the Kardex would indicate it had the VW crashbox. Porsche did not put the VW trans number on the Kardex.
However, the chassis number is late enough it should have had a 519.

My guess is that it should have a 519 too given how late it is in Dec 1953.

BUT

As Vic says, since the transmission number is not indicated, then it could have a VW crash box. Though I've seen plenty of later 1953 Kardex documents where the transmission (and lots of other things) are not listed either. In fact most of the early '53 Kardex I've seen don't list the gearbox number. So that is not definitive.

What I think is a good indication of gearbox type is the 5cm extension. That to me indicates it had a VW crash box, as these were only used on those transmissions. Here's photos of a mid-'52 cabriolet with one. The gear levers for these transmissions came up straight from the floor. The '53 519 transmission has the gear lever mounted further forward, and it was a much longer lever that angled back. No need for an extension on that one.

Also notice the unique leather(ette) map pockets down in the foot well area. Your car would have had these too, as they were still in use at this point. They were replaced shortly after by carpet pockets, but 15111 still has them. These were a 1952 feature.

Also Rod, send me an email. I'll forward you what I have in photos.

The black car in the photos above is 60045, so a fairly early '53 cab. It was very original when restored, and the restoration is very faithful. That would definitely be a good car to use as a reference. You should be able to figure out the interior and top color of your car by looking very carefully inside. Are there scraps of carpet or leather or leatherette anywhere inside. There's often leatherette sleeves covering the springs on the convertible top frame.

I think typical interiors for a black car in 1952/53 would either be green, beige or dark red. Beige carpet would be common with beige or red leather, but green carpet with the green leather.

I just got the pics from the shop and it definitely looks like a VW crashbox!

One more

Hi Rod,

That transmission looks like a 519 to me. The 519s from 1952 and 1953 (up through July) had the early smooth case, just like the VW crash boxes. The first ~1800 519 cases were like this. You can see yours has the oil filler at the top, an intermediate plate and Porsche nose cone on it. Inside you should find lots of nice Porsche gears and synchros. There should be a 3-digit number stamped on the flat part next to the starter hole on the top of the bell housing. That's the tranny number stamped by Porsche.

Too bad about all the red paint everywhere. Looks like someone had a field day with a spray bomb. =(

The linkage and mounting in the tunnel is also for a 519. Those little plates that hold the platform for the shifter are for 519 transmission linkage. The early crash box shifter mounted further back in the oval hole in the top of the tunnel (see line drawing above). The rubber tunnel mat is also for a 519, further evidence.

All good evidence your car had a 519, as expected given its production date.

So I wonder what a 5 cm extension is? =)